The Polar Express Mystery
by ThomasZoey3000
Summary: Billy thinks that Pere Marquette 1225 is the real Polar Express, is he right? Read the story to find out.


_**The Polar Express Mystery**_

_**Special Thanks to Turdy1 for the Idea**_

"Did you hear?" Billy asked the engines one cold winter's morning, "a famous engine from America is coming to our Island for the Christmas holiday season."

"Which engine is coming?" Duck asked curiously.

"From what my Driver told me, it's the legendary Polar Express engine."

"Strange," said Douglas, "I was with ye in yonder yards when ye're Driver told ye that and that's nae how I remember it."

"Then tell us who it really is," grunted Gordon, he had been trying to sleep after taking a late night express train to the Other Railway and the chatter of the other engines certainly wasn't helping him.

"Tis the engine that played the role of yon train," explained Douglas, "Pere Marguette 1225 is who he really is."

Billy blushed with embarrassment, "oh yeah, now that I think about it, my Driver did say that," then he added, "but 1225 just might the Polar Express, you never know."

"Pah," snorted Gordon, "you're talking rubbish. Now will you please quiet down? I really need some sleep."

And so the engines went into silence, while Douglas puffed off to collect some trucks from the Little Western.

A little later, Murdoch was backing down onto the express when he heard the sounds of pistons pumping and then he heard the sounds of a loud whistle. A few seconds later, a big black enigne puffed into the big station.

The engine was a little bit smaller than Murdoch, but it was still very big. Just below the windows on his cab were the numbers '1225' and on the sides of the tender were the words 'Pere Marguette'. Behind the engine's tender were a set of blue coaches with red outlines just above the windows. In between the red lining on the coaches were the words 'Polar Express'.

"Hello there," Murdoch called over to 1225, "You must be the engine everyone's been talking about."

1225 chuckled, "no matter where I go, everyone recongizes me."

"Why do you say that?" Murdoch asked.

Before 1225 could say another word, Charlie came into the station with some coaches for James' stopping passenger train. When he saw the engine, he shouted, "look everyone! It's the Polar Express!" As soon as Charlie said that, all the passengers looked over to 1225 and took pictures of him.

"That's why," he said answering Murdoch's question from before.

After the passengers had taken their pictures, 1225 puffed away for a rest after his long journey.

Later that night, Billy puffed into the sheds just before Gordon was ready to go, "I told you so! I told you so!" he puffed proudly.

"You told us what?" grunted Gordon.

"I told you that engine was the main engine for the Polar Express train!"

Before anyone could say a word, the very engine of their discussion pulled up to their shed on the siding just outside of their shed. He had, of course, heard what Billy had said.

"Your young friend is almost right," said 1225, "Although I do look like the engine of the Polar Express train, I'm not the actual engine seen in the movie. The movie crews used special microphones to record the many sounds I make and then they edited those sounds into the movie."

"Then why do your coaches say 'Polar Express'?" Billy asked.

"I sometimes do railtours as the Polar Express," answered 1225, "lots of kids want to travel on a famous train like the Polar Express, so the volunteers paint me and the coaches until we look just like our movie counterpart."

"There you have it," Gordon said proudly, "this engine is not the engine of the Polar Express."

Billy sighed unhappily.

"Anyways," 1225 continued, "I am Pere Marquette 1225, although I like to be called 'Pere' for short. I have come to do some railtours from here to the Other Railway and the Mainland and back again until after new years, then I go back home."

"Sounds exciting," smiled Henry.

"Oh it is," smiled Pere, "it's much better than sitting outside of a college campus - mind you, I've learned a lot more than I did when I was on the Pere Marquette," he said with a chuckle. Some of the other engines chuckled, even Gordon.

The engines talked with Pere for quite a while until he was taken away to Knapford sheds.

"It's a shame he can't stay in our sheds," said Duck, "he seems like a friendly engine."

"I wonder if Hank knows anything about the Pere Marquette," added Henry, "it would be nice to tell him something about american railroads."

"I still say he's the official engine of the Polar Express," said Billy.

"We just proved that he is not the Polar Express," grumbled Gordon, "now will you give it a rest already?" But Billy didn't, he believed that Pere was the real Polar Express engine and was determined to prove he was right.

On Christmas Eve, Molly was puffing past Knapford sheds, she looked inside, hoping to see Pere again - as she looked though, she noticed that his engine berth was completely empty.

"I wonder where he is," she said out loud.

"Who are you talking about?" Charlie asked.

"Pere, he's not in his shed."

Upon hearing this, Charlie puffed away from the sheds to find Billy. He told his brother everything and then, once his jobs were done, Billy puffed off back to Tidmouth Sheds to find the other engines.

"Pere is not in his shed!" he cried as he rolled onto the turntable, "I bet he's gone to the North Pole!"

"Here we go again," grumbled Gordon, "Billy, for the last time, Pere is not the Polar Express."

"He is so," snapped Billy, "where he would he be then?"

"You heard what he said before," said Henry, "he's running several railtours to the Other Railway and the Mainland, I'm sure he'll be back later."

As the sun set for the day, none of the engines ever saw Pere return, nor had they seen his special coaches.

He was still gone by eleven fifty that evening.

"He's probably been held up by snow on the way back," said James.

"Or maybe he's working with Father Christmas," said Billy, "I have a feeling in the next few minutes, we will be seeing the Polar Express."

"What Rubbish," huffed Gordon.

The engines at Tidmouth sheds waited for five minutes, but there was no sign of Pere or a Polar Express train. Gordon thought he had made his point and was about to say so to Billy, that was until they heard a loud whistle in the distance - it sounded like Pere. Then there came the sounds of pistons pumping, very fast - then the engines saw a train rocketing past their sheds.

The coaches' lights shone brightly, even on the snow beside the tracks. The engine itself did look like Pere, except it had no number underneath the windows of the cab and it had the words 'Polar Express' on the side of it's tender.

"What do you have to say now?" asked Billy with a sly grin as the train disappeared into the distance.

"I think I know why we haven't seen Pere," chuckled Gordon, "he's been at the Steamworks getting a repaint for a special railtour."

"But it is a little late in the evening for a railtour don't you think?" asked Henry.

"Hmm good point," said Gordon thoughtfully, "Well...we'll talk to him tomorrow and ask why they arranged a train so late."

"He's the engine on the Polar Express," puffed Billy quietly.

The next morning, the engines awoke to find Pere standing outside of their sheds. His crew were cleaning the snow off his cowcatcher, "Merry Christmas fellow engines," he said with a smile.

"Merry Christmas Pere," the engines called in unison.

"So how long were you out last night?" Gordon asked.

"I don't know," Pere answered as he looked down to his cowcatchers, "I had to battle my way threw the snow for what seemed like hours."

"Did you get stuck after passing our sheds?"

Pere looked over to Gordon surprised, "I didn't pass your sheds last night."

"Sure you did, at around eleven fifty-five."

"No, I was out in the countryside on the Other Railway. I didn't come back to Sodor till around three thirty."

Gordon's eyes popped open with surprise, "if you were on the Other Railway, then who was it that passed by at that time?" Gordon, Henry and James looked over to Billy, who smiled brightly. Billy didn't say a single word.

"Well I love to stay and chat some more," said Pere, "but I need to get back to the sheds at Knapford, I'll talk to you engines later." With a blow of his whistle, Pere puffed away.

"Okay so he wasn't the real Polar Express," Billy thought, "but at least I now know that the train is real."

As for Pere, when he reached Knapford Sheds, he went off to sleep, dreaming about a conversation he had the night before.

He had been stopped at a station and saw a train coming towards him, the engine looked just like him.

"Hello there Carol," smiled Pere, "how are things at the North Pole?"

"Can't complain," she answered, "everyone is busy as always, just the other day, Santa gave me a new coat of paint."

"That's good to hear. Oh and remember my friend, if you ever need my help - you know where to find me."

"I sure do," she said as she pulled the train away.


End file.
